Obesity is increasingly contributing to higher costs in workers compensation rates, according to a new study that found the duration of claims by obese persons is more than five times longer than claims by non-obese persons.
Napa-based The Doctors Company, the largest medical malpractice insurer in the country, has agreed to lower its rates by 10 percent, according to Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, who last year required six of the state’s largest malpractice insurers to submit rate filings to the Department of Insurance.
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced that the California Senate passed SB 1431, which would set guidelines for stop-loss carriers when selling policies to small employers with 2 to 50 employees. …

Insurance carriers and brokers are seeing increased demand in policies specifically tailored to cover an employer in the event of a data breach, a risk that is increasingly common as more and more business moves online for small and large employers alike.

Workers’ compensation insurance rates are continuing to climb upward, as the cost of health care and increasing medical utilization drives up premiums for employers throughout the state, according to brokers in the North Bay.